What is the referral workflow?
The referral workflow below is the step-by-step process that participants in your referral program go through. There are two important participant roles in the referral process:
Advocate - An individual enrolled in your referral campaign
Referred friend - An individual referred by an advocate
Interested in running an affiliate program? Subscribe to the AffiliatePlus (Beta) add-on. Sign up for the early beta access in the ReferralCandy web app or Shopify app.
How do referral programs work with ReferralCandy?
When a customer makes a purchase, signs up via a form, or is imported to a segment, they are registered as contacts in your account. If the customer meets the criteria of a segment targeted by your campaign (for example, a lifetime spend greater than $50) they are successfully enrolled in your campaign, and the contact becomes an advocate.
Once enrolled, the advocate receives their unique referral link which they can share with their friends. When the advocate makes a referral that meets the reward conditions you set, the advocate receives a reward in the form of cash, discount coupon, or a custom reward that you must fulfill on your end.
See the below diagram for an example of how ReferralCandy works:
This is a typical workflow followed by most merchants. Depending on your eCommerce platform and your setup, there may be variations in the workflow.
[A] Post-purchase enrollment workflow
[A] Post-purchase enrollment workflow
After a customer makes a purchase, they must first meet your segment criteria to enroll in your campaign. If they meet the criteria, they immediately get a referral link and receive the invite email.
Notes:
This flow assumes that the merchant has enabled the post-purchase popup widget and sending of the invite email for their referral campaign
[B] Referred purchase workflow
[B] Referred purchase workflow
When a referred friend clicks the advocate's link, and makes a purchase from your store, they must first meet the conditions you set in your reward settings.
If the purchase doesn't meet the reward conditions, the advocate won't receive a reward and receives the ineligible reward email.
If the purchase meets the reward conditions, the advocate receives the pending reward email.
During this time, the purchase remains in a pending state until the review period ends. You can disqualify the purchase during this period if issues arise, such as an order refund.
If there are no issues and the review period ends, the purchase is confirmed. The advocate receives their reward and the successful reward email.
Notes:
This flow assumes that the merchant has enabled a purchase review period and sending of reward emails for their referral campaign.
*A purchase is rewardable only if it meets all the reward conditions
*A merchant can disqualify a referred purchase when a referral made by an advocate is considered fraud
What is the referral campaign map?
The goal of the referral campaign map is to provide you with insight into each step of the campaign and where you can tweak or implement changes.
How referral campaigns work with ReferralCandy
The referral campaign process has 5 steps:
Contact registration - Customers are automatically registered for your campaign via purchase, signup, or when you manually import them to a segment. Once registered, they become contacts in your account.
Invitation to refer - Once enrolled, contacts become advocates. Advocates receive their unique referral link, and an invitation to refer friends through the invite email or widgets.
Advocate referral - Enrolled advocates can start referring friends by sharing their unique referral link through the invite email or widgets. When a referred friend makes a successful purchase, ReferralCandy reviews the purchase and the advocate receives the pending reward email.
Advocate reward - Once the system confirms that the referred purchase is legitimate (for example, no refunds or returns), and the purchase meets the conditions you set, the advocate receives the successful reward email along with their reward.
New to ReferralCandy? Read the Getting Started article to learn how to set up and launch your referral or affiliate campaign with us!
Using ReferralCandy FAQ
Can a customer refer even if they don't make a purchase?
Can a customer refer even if they don't make a purchase?
Yes, it's possible to set up a referral program that enrolls customers in your campaign without requiring a purchase. Alternatives include campaign enrollment through signup or invitation.
You need to create and target a segment that includes customers who sign up via a form or those you manually import into the segment. Learn more
Can I run a referral program for B2B sales?
Can I run a referral program for B2B sales?
Regarding the setup and operation of a referral program on ReferralCandy, there is no difference between B2C and B2B businesses.
To use ReferralCandy, the main requirement is the ability to complete the following two steps:
Forward/BCC invoice emails to ReferralCandy immediately after each purchase, including relevant transaction details.
Add a referral tracking code to the purchase completion page.
If these steps can be implemented, your store can use ReferralCandy. If you're using Shopify or BigCommerce, setup is as simple as installing the app in your store.
Can I run multiple campaigns for a single store?
Can I run multiple campaigns for a single store?
Yes, you can set multiple live campaigns for one ReferralCandy account.
How many campaigns can I run at the same time?
How many campaigns can I run at the same time?
You can create and simultaneously run up to 50 referral or affiliate campaigns in ReferralCandy. It is recommended that you run only the number of live campaigns that you can monitor and manage.
What kind of campaigns can I run with multi-campaign?
What kind of campaigns can I run with multi-campaign?
There are endless possibilities with running multiple campaigns based on your referral marketing needs. Here are some use cases:
Different types of referral programs: Running a customer referral program for store purchases and an affiliate program for influencers.
Different affiliate programs: Running an affiliate program for YouTube influencers and another affiliate program for Instagram influencers that you may prefer to offer higher or lower cash rewards to.
Campaigns based on lifetime spend: A campaign for customers who have spent less than $1000 at your store, and a campaign for VIP customers who have a lifetime spend of over $1000.
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